Part of Cryptos, book 2
First published 2026
Jana enters Canvas, a digital employment hub where people take jobs in virtual worlds that others refuse. She accepts assignments in simulated environments that need workers to maintain their authenticity. The compensation comes as access passes to Mastermind's most desirable virtual realms. Earth has become too hot for human habitation, forcing most people to live their lives in digital spaces. Only a wealthy elite, including Mastermind's founding family, can afford to stay in Earth's few remaining habitable zones with tolerable climates. Jana navigates this system of virtual labor and digital rewards while the planet's privileged few control access to both real and artificial paradises. But resistance begins to emerge against this divided world. Jana must decide where she stands as opposition movements challenge the system that separates the virtual masses from the earthbound elite.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, young-adult, 21st-century, social-justice, cyberpunk
Vibes: dystopian, immersive, socially-conscious, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dystopian-society, moral-awakening, system-rebellion, underdog-protagonist
Setting: Canvas, Earth
Period: 21st-century, future
480 pages · Hardcover · Loewe